


Sparring Partners

by Perelynn



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-18
Updated: 2019-12-18
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:48:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21842458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Perelynn/pseuds/Perelynn
Summary: Things were complicated after the war, but one part of Rayla's routine seemed to delight her unfailingly. Every morning she went down to the training grounds for her sparring practice with Soren.
Relationships: Callum/Rayla (The Dragon Prince), Rayla/Soren (The Dragon Prince)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 46





	Sparring Partners

**Author's Note:**

> Just a quick drabble inspired by Soren's phrase "I think the elf has a thing for me."

Things were complicated after the war. Ezran returned to Katolis, with Soren as his Crown Guard and Callum as his High Mage, but ruling was hard, with so many men and women having left their home to fight for Viren. Ezran was grateful Rayla came with them, too. Together, the four of them would hold a council every time the king faced a tough decision, which was pretty much daily. 

Ezran offered Rayla a position in the Crown Guard. She accepted, albeit temporarily. Rayla wasn't sure how the people of Katolis would respond to an elf at their king's council. But she wanted to be close to Callum, so she was willing to try.

Public opinion notwithstanding, one part of her routine seemed to delight her unfailingly. Every morning Rayla went down to the training grounds for her sparring practice with Soren.

They were quite a match. She was lithe and versatile, with dozens of tricks up her sleeve that allowed her to outmanoeuvre him. He was tall and tough and dangerous due to his sheer bruteforcing ability. Whenever they would start sparring, they needed a referee to stop them lest they would fully exhaust each other. They fought until they dropped. That actually happened more than once, rendering them both useless for their daily duties.

Sometimes after practice Soren found himself thinking about her purple eyes and silvery-white hair, her slender figure and her teasing smile. When he caught himself in those thoughts, he would mutter "I think that elf has a thing for me" and chuckle merrily. 

One day, after a particularly long and boring (for Soren) discussion on some matter of state, the two crown guards went to the training grounds. Their sparring session was short that day. Soren bested the elf - a rare occasion - and she excused herself, disappearing into the palace garden. 

Soren worked out some more, but his heart wasn't in it. The girl is probably quite upset about losing to him today, he reasoned. She may be even crying there in the garden. It would be only natural for him to offer her support. Maybe they can go to the city tonight for a beer. Do elves drink beer? Well, time to find out.

He did indeed find Rayla in the garden. She was sitting on a bench next to some fountain, but not alone. Callum was with her, holding her in his arms. Was she really that upset? Soren rushed forward at the same time as Rayla raised her head and kissed Callum on the mouth.

Soren stopped dead. He must have made a noise - he was never the one for stealth - because the couple turned and looked at him. 

"Uh," Soren said. "That's... you.. what?"  
"What does it look like?" Callum asked.  
"Um. Fair point. Okay. I'll be off then."

Soren turned on his heels and marched back down the alley he came. Rayla chuckled, but Callum frowned.

"Give me a moment," he said to her, before rushing after the departed Crown Guard.

"Soren! Wait!"

Soren stopped, but didn't turn to face him. Callum had to go around him to look the bigger man in the eye.

"What's the matter?" the mage asked. "Why are you acting so weird?"

Soren scratched his head. 

"I thought the elf had a thing for me," he said. "But... it seems she does have a thing. For you."  
"You like her," Callum realized.  
"Like her? No. I don't like her," Soren announced.  
"Oh."  
"*Like* does not have the proper ring to it," the Crown Guard mused. "It's something more than that. It fills me with wonder, just looking at her. How she is so fast, and daring, and strong. How she moves - whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! - and I still don't know what to expect from her. How our sparring practice is a highlight of my day."  
"You love her," Callum whispered.  
"Yeah," Soren said. "Yeah, this sounds more like it."  
"I understand," Callum said. "I love her, too."

The two young men stood there for a minute, not sure what to say to each other. Finally, Soren sighed, patted Callum on the shoulder and strode away.

He clearly needed that beer more than he originally thought.


End file.
